Everyone is obsessed with Japanese cheesecake

• Japanese cheesecake is gaining popularity on social
media.• A shop called Uncle Tetsu opened
up two cheesecake restaurants in the United
States.

Update: Nov. 1, 2016 at 5:01 p.m. EST

If you don't happen to live near one of these new cheesecake
restaurants, don't let the FOMO set in—we've found a way for you
to make it yourself at home and have it taste as authentic as the
real deal. Pinterest let us in on their ~trendiest~ dessert of
the moment, which just so happens to be a Japanese cheesecake.
Searches for the dessert are up 42 percent this year, and this
recipe in particular has been saved over 200k times. Wowza.

Original Post: Sept. 15, 2016 at 6:06 p.m.
EST

Get ready for a new trendy food to take over your Instagram
feeds, because Japanese cheesecake has come to the U.S., and
it's about to blow up. Seriously, it's such a big deal that
two restaurants have opened just to sell the foreign dessert.
But wait—what the heck actually is Japanese cheesecake? If you
don't know, you definitely aren't alone.

Japanese cheesecake is nothing like any cheesecake you've had
before. Seriously, mad love for New York and all, but the
Japanese cheesecakes are legit. They have a more fluffy,
sponge-like texture than classic cheesecake, thanks to the
Japanese technique of
whisking the egg whites separately before incorporating them by
hand for aeration, but they've still got that rich, creamy
goodness that you love. Another big difference? Though you can
have them cold, they're also eaten hot, fresh out of the oven,
so they literally melt in your mouth. Um, where can we get one,
like ASAP?

Good news—Uncle Tetsu has opened up two
cheesecake restaurantsin the United States! But
they're currently only in Hawaii and California. Given the
insane popularity of this dessert, expansion is no doubt on the
horizon, but until then, you're going to have to book a plane
ticket if you don't happen to live in one of those two states.
But hey, at least it's a shorter flight than going all the way
to Japan.